In the nutria zone, higher bounty considered for Louisiana's most wanted rodent

Updated July 11, 2017 at 10:57 AM;Posted July 11, 2017 at 10:52 AM

Nutria, a wetland-dwelling rodent, has taken a toll on Louisiana wetlands after its introduction 80 years ago. A bigger bounty for nutria may curb their growth, Terrebonne Parish leaders say.

Nutria, a wetland-dwelling rodent, has taken a toll on Louisiana wetlands after its introduction 80 years ago. A bigger bounty for nutria may curb their growth, Terrebonne Parish leaders say.(File photo)

Louisiana's most wanted rodent might soon fetch a bigger bounty in the place where it's doing the most damage. Terrebonne Parish leaders are considering a proposal that would add $2 or $3 to the $5 that the state already pays for each nutria tail turned in by hunters and trappers.

"We need to come up with something to do more," Parish Council Chairman Dirk Guidry said. "I don't think we can eradicate them, but at least we can try to knock them down a little more."

The parish could, for instance, allot $100,000 for the added bounty, Guidry said. "We spend about $140,000 to rebuild an acre of marsh. So, I think this [bounty] could be money well spent."

Marsh-devouring nutria are hitting Terrebonne harder than other coastal parishes. This year, about 82 percent of the nutria damage surveyed along the Louisiana coast was inflicted on Terrebonne, according to an annual report by the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The rate was even higher in 2016, when Terrebonne bore 99 percent of all damage.

Gnawing away the roots of marsh plants, nutria leave little to hold the fragile landscape in place. More than 40 square miles of the state's coast has been converted to open water by nutria over the past 16 years, the Wildlife and Fisheries nutria report says.

Terrebonne is particularly vulnerable because its vast stretches of shallow marsh are difficult for hunters to access. Much of the marsh is on private property, but few owners grant hunting or trapping access due to liability and safety concerns. Also, the population is just 114,000, or 93 people per square mile, and the pool of hunters is low.

Guidry proposed the bounty boost after reading a June 5 NOLA.com | Times-Picayune story that highlighted Terrebonne's nutria scourge. "I knew they did damage, but I didn't know how much damage," Guidry said. "That's why I brought it up with the council."

Marsh damage was worse before the state bounty program was established in 2002. Damaged areas ranged around 100,000 acres, and this year it's less than 6,000 acres.

But participation in the bounty program might be waning. The number of tails turned in this year was about 35 percent less than the annual average. And despite having the biggest nutria problem, Terrebonne produces only 22 percent of the program's nutria tails.

A bigger financial incentive could boost the count, Guidry hopes. History appears to back him up. Nutria pelts were a hot commodity until the 1980s, when the fur market tanked. Before then, when prices were high, the state recorded almost no nutria damage.

Guidry said his proposal got a lukewarm response from other Parish Council members. "A lot of them are city people," said Guidry, who lives in Chauvin, population 2,900. "They aren't accustomed to talking about the the nutria problem. I'm going to have to educate them."

He's working with a former Wildlife and Fisheries manager to refine his proposal. A key issue is making sure the added bounty is paid only for nutria killed in Terrebonne. A hunter might bring tails from neighboring Lafourche Parish and claim the Terrebonne bounty, Guidry said. A solution is to offer the Terrebonne bounty only to hunters who can prove Terrebonne residency.

Wildlife and Fisheries hasn't officially weighed in Guidry's proposal. Catherine Normand, the agency's nutria control program manager, said a more effective solution might be to work on hunter access agreements or incentives with marsh property owners. Boosting property access is one of the control program's goals this year.

Guidry plans to make a formal proposal to boost the Terrebonne bounty late this month or in early August.